It came as a surprise recently when Mötley Crüe didn’t show up for Ozzy Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell show in Birmingham.
And Nikki Sixx has now explained why. It was all about. Health issues, plain and simple.
Responding to a fan on X, Sixx wrote, “We have been having health issues within the band.” He didn’t go into detail, but it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to work it out. Vince Neil had vocal surgery back in March, forcing the band to postpone their Las Vegas residency. Sixx has also been writing candidly about his own health lately.
“This 66-year-old pirate ship looks ready to go back to sea,” he said in a post, before making it very clear he’s not pushing himself into the grave to make a gig. “I’m not interested in dying from work and BS stress.” He’s got a wife, five kids, a granddaughter, and, apparently, zero interest in indulging nostalgia at the expense of his spine or sanity. Which is fair enough.
He added that any of his past self-destructive indulgences are not worth throwing away the life he’s built now. “Either get your shit tighter or die a slow death crawl,” he wrote. “We all die. Some just give up sooner. I’m planning on cracking 100. That will piss off the critics.”
If he’s serious about that last bit, then backing out of one show makes sense. Still, the absence was noticeable. Ozzy’s farewell wasn’t just another night in the calendar. It was a cultural full stop. Metallica played. Guns N’ Roses were there. The world showed up. It would’ve been something to see Crüe on that stage too.
They’ll return soon. The postponed Vegas run starts September 12 and wraps October 3. If everyone’s upright and functioning, they’ll be back in business. But for now, the Crüe are sitting this one out and keeping their insides where they belong. Which is fair play in my opinion.
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